Sadiron



March 26, 1940.

fig: 1.

WITNESSES:

E.K.CLARK SADIRON Original Filed lay 21, 1936 A23 IZ/ I32 3 Sheds-sheet1 AOV INVENTOR Mal-ch26, 1940. E. K. CLARK SADIRON Original Filed May21, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES:

I I INVENTOR. 6.4 9% ['or/K C/a'rK. fijfigwr BY March 1 E. K. CLARK2,195,002

smmou Driinal Filed lay 21, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 WITNESSES: INVENTORtr/ ATC/arK.

Patented Mar. 26, 1940 PATENT OFFICE 2,195,002 SADIBON Earl K. Clark,Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to Westinghouse Electric & ManufacturingCompany, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporationof Pennsyl- Originalapplication May 21, 1936, Serial No.

Divided and this application November 22. 1988, Serial No. 241,767

BClaims.

My invention relates to electrically heated sadirons, and particularlyto such irons for domestic use, this application being a division ofapplication Serial No. 81,052, filed on May 21, 193B.

An object of this invention is to provide means 5 located on top of aniron casing or housing for adjusting a thermostat within the iron,indicia on the adjusting means serving to indicate the goods for whichthe temperature of the iron at the particular setting of the thermostatindicated is appropriate for ironing purposes.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a point on thehandle of the iron to cooperate as a reference point with the indicia onthe adjusting means.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a switch socooperating with the adjusting means for the thermostat that when theadjustment is moved to its extreme low-temperature position, current iscompletely shut oil from the heater.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a switch which shallremain closed through all of the adjusting movement, except the verylast portion of the movement to an extreme position a and shall beopened an ample amount by the last portion of the adjusting movement.

Other objects of the invention and details of the construction will beapparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings,

' in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal elevational view of the iron, partly insection;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the iron with certain parts being brokenaway;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the thermostat;

Fig. 4 is a view partly in section and partly in side elevation of thethermostats showing the associated switch in closed position;

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the switch in open position;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the thermostat disk and associated parts;

Fig. '1 is a sectional view taken on the line VII--VII of Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the conductor supporting shelf; and

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view'of the shelf.

The illustrated sadiron comprises a base I, preferably of forged steelof the' usual general shape for the bottom of a sadiron and the weightof which constitutes most of the weight of the iron. If preferred thebase may be of cast iron. The heater may be of the usual form comprisinga sheet of mica with resistance wire wound thereon plus top and bottommica plates used for insulation. Since the construction of the heater initself forms no part of this invention, it is unnecessary to describe orillustrate it in further detail. 5

A well 23 in about the middle of the base i extends so near to thebottom of the base that the portion 01' the base under the well isthinner than any other part of the base.

This well isprovided with an upwardly ex- 10 tending parapet 25 on therear side and a projection on the front side to accommodate holes forscrews by which parts are secured to the side walls of the well. Thethermostat is supported in the well 23 by a foundation plate 29, bestshown in Figs. 3 to 5 and in section in Fig. 1. Notches in the plate 29cooperate with screws 29, one of which is seen in Fig. 1, to secureplate 29 over the well.

Screws 39, Figs. 4 and 5, mounted in the founda- .0 tion plate 29 andextending through holes 34 (Fig. 6) in disk 3i aflord bearings for thedisk 3i. The disk 3i is of bimetal and is carried at the lower end of ashaft 33 which extends to the top 01 the housing 35 where it ismanipulated by ,5 means of an adjustment lever 36. The disk 3i issecured to the shaft 33 by heading the shaft over a washer, as shown at32.

Conductor strips 31 and 39 mounted upon the upper side of the disk 3i,which is the left-hand 30 side in Fig. 7, are separated from the disk bypieces of mica 49 which overlap, as is indicated in dotted lines in Fig.6.

Contact terminals 43 are on the upper ends of rivets which extendthrough the disk 3i, mica u 49 and the conductors 31 and 33 andcooperate with contacts carried on plate 29 but insulated therefrom. Atthe junction of conductors 31 and 33 there is a rivet extending throughboth and also the disk 3i and ending in a flat head 41. a This head hasno electrical function but serves to cooperate with a head 44 on disk 29to present a symmetrical stop for the disk 3i. Because the stop issymmetrical about the shaft 33, tendency for the disk to work loose isminimized. The conductors 31 and 39 form an uninterrupted connectionfrom one contact rivet 43 through an irregular shaped washer 39 to whichthey are welded to the other contact rivet 43. Rivets 49 and 59,extending through plate 29, have at their '0 lower ends contacts 45cooperating with the contacts 43. At the upper end of rivet 49 it isconnected to a ribbon 19.

The upper end of rivet 59 is a contact to cooperate with contact 54carried by the lever 39 but insulated therefrom as shown most clearly inFigs. 4 and 5. The lever 56 is provided with two downwardly off-setportions 61 which bear against the plate 29. The portion 59 of the lever56 between the portions 61 is a blunt pointed triangle. A spring 60presses against the under side of the apex of the triangle 5! and tendsto depress the contact 66. Upward movement of the lever as a whole isprevented by screws 62 which extend through the lever near the base ofthe triangle 59 and hold it, with a certain lost motion, against thesupport plate 29. The degree to which the portions 51 are struckdownward serves to determine spacing of lever 66 and thus the normalposition of contact 64.

The lever 56 has two right angle bends whereby an upwardly extendingpart 66 is formed therein which permits the end of the lever carryingthe contact 56 to be at a higher level than the triangle 6!. Thevertically extending portion has a projection at one side thereof whichforms an upstanding part 66, which extends into the pathway of aprojection or lug 61 rigidly fastened to the shaft 33. A post 65 securedin the foundation plate 29 extends close to, and nearly parallel with,the extending arm 66 and forms a stop against which the projection 61comes to rest. The upper part of post 6! is of smaller diameter toafford room for projection 61 to move further before reaching its stopbut the lower part is made large enough to provide ample metal to securethe post to the plate 29.

Ribbons 1|! and 11 extend from the thermostat and switch to conductorscarried upon a shelf 86, shown in detail in Figs. 8 and 9. An upwardlyextending leg 8i supports the body of the shelf from the base of theiron to which it is fastened by means of a screw 82, Fig. 1. The foot 83at the bottom of the leg 8i contains a perforation 84 for cooperationwith the screw 62. This perforation is not round but elongated toprovide for variations in position of the shelf and the base when theiron is assembled.

A collar 85 secured to the shelf 66 where it is traversed by the shaft36, affords a stop against which the shelf can be positioned.

A sheet of mica 81 extends lengthwise of the shelf and may, if desired,project slightly beyond the shelf at the side and rear. The micaseparates the shelf from the conductors mounted thereon, which include acentral conductor 66, a longitudinal conductor 69 which extends overonly part of the shelf and a second longitudinal conductor 90 whichextends over the other part.

The two ribbons 10 and 11 extend from their described connections in thethermostat and switch to the terminals SI and 92 which are at theforward end of the conductors l6 and 90. Binding screws are provided atthese points. The conductors are threaded where these binding screwstraverse them, but the cooperating holes in the shelf are made largerthan the screws and are unthreaded. The ends of the ribbons areperforated with holes that slip easily over the threads. A veryconvenient way of making connections is thus provided.

Rivets 93 and 96, adjacent the screws, are insulated from the shelf byappropriate washers and secure the conductors in place. Similar rivets95 and 96, similarly insulated from the shelf, secure the other ends ofthe same conductors to the shelf. A similar pair of rivets 91 and 96 areinstalled near each end of the conductor 66. The rear ends of theconductors 66 and 66 have upwardly turned parts 66 which extend throughthe housing 36, as shownin Fig. 1. A slot III, Fig. 1, is provided inthe housing for their accommodation. At their upper ends they areprovided with screw threaded orifices, andv the screws cooperatingtherewith are shown at I66 in Fig. 1.

The rear end of the shelf III has secured thereto a support I66. Atriangular tab I66 affords sufficient area for welding, brazing or othermeans by which the support is secured to the shelf. The under-surface ofthe rearmost part of the support I65 affords convenient location for atrade mark, size numbering or other desired legend, since it is outsideof the iron, being beyond the rear edge of the base I. It has two earsI61 which extend forward of the upright portion I06 and are providedwith holes I II through which assembly screws may be passed.

The shelf III is thus secured to the base and supported therefrom onlyby the leg 6| and the upright portion I66. These being of steel aflordonly small thermal conductive connection between the base I and theshelf 66. The shelf, therefore, is but slightly heated by conductionfrom the base. Two threaded holes H2 in the shelf 60 on each side of thecollar 85 provide a grip for screws (not shown) by which the housing issecured in place. When the screws are driven home they draw thedepressed part I2! of the housing against the collar 85 on the shelf 60,thus positioning both parts.

Depression I 20 is provided in the iron housing where the shaft 33extends through it. Holes for the screws cooperating with the shelf 60at I I2 are provided in this depressed portion as well as a hole for theshaft 36.

Where the end of the shaft extends above the bottom of the housing, themetal hub I2I is secured to it by means of a set screw I22, Fig. 1. Thehub constitutes an insert in the molded material of adjustment lever 36which gives the lever the advantages of molded material and also thesecure position of a metal portion. A groove in the upper part of theshaft cooperates with the set screw I22 and a knurled head I22 at thetop of the shaft provides good connection to the handle 36. The interiorof the top of the hub is broached to cooperate with the knurled head.Provision for securing the adjustment lever 16 to the shaft 12 in anydesired direction is thus made.

The adjustment lever 26 is provided with a rounded portion to enclosethe insert or hub HI and the rounded portion is provided with a flange I26 upon which indicia I21 are provided which indicate the goods (wool,silk, etc.) upon which the iron can be used to advantage when the heatcorresponds to that setting of the thermostat. At one extreme of theindicia, the word of! is placed and at the other extreme the word high."

The sadiron is provided with a handle I36 which is secured to thehousing before the housing is put in place. The handle has two uprights;the forward upright, shown in section at I6I in Fig. 2, is provided onthe rear surface thereof with a rib which forms a point I62 where itterminates at the surface of the iron. This point is closely adjacent tothe flange I26 and so serves as an indicator point for the indicia I21.

In the operation of the device, when the iron is not in use, the currentis switched off. This is done by rotating the adjustment lever 66counterclockwise until it is stopped. The stopp is effected by theprojecting piece 61 coming into contact with the post 66. As it comesinto this pooltion, it pushes the arm it toward the rear of the ironwhich moves the lever 50 into the pomtion shown in Fig. 5, in which thecontact I is sep- .arated from the contact II.

To the operator it would appear that the adjustment lever II was stoppedby the interference of the forward upright of the handle III! in itsrotation, because, when the adjustment lever 38 has reached the pomtion'in which the current is shut off, which is the position in which thepoint I22 is opposite the index mark "off," the adjustment lever II willhave nearly contacted with the upright in question. This is the positionin which the adjustment lever It is left when the ironis not in use.Normally it is not disturbed after the current is shut off.

When the iron is to be put to use, the end or the cord I is connected toa source of power not shown) in the usual way; by a wall socket, forexample. Current then flows through one conductor of the cord to one ofthe terminal connectors I00, say, for example, to that associated withthe upper upright 90 in Fig. 8. Current flows along this upright to theconductor 80 and thence to the screw 02 and so to the ribbon II. Itdescends this ribbon to the contact member 54 and is there interrupted,unless the adjustment lever It has been moved from the last-describedposition.

When the adjustment-lever 36 is moved, it is necessarily in a clockwiserotation (Fig. 2), since it was at its extreme counter-clockwiseposition. Movement of the adjustment lever 38 in clockwise directioncauses the cross piece 01 to depart from the post 69 and release theupright 88. This causes the spring 80 to move the apex of the triangularpart 59 of the lever upward. The screws 82 causes the movement of thelever to be about the heads of the screws 82 as a pivot. The contact ll,therefore, descends and meets the rivet head III. Thence current passesthrough the rivet 50 to contact I! and abutting contact 43, thencethrough conducting strips 88 and I! to the other contact 43 whichcooperates with the lower end of rivet 49. This brings the current tothe ribbon 10 which is connected at the screw M with the conductor 90.Current passes along conductor 90 to the other end of it where theconductor is fastened by a screw I80 to a ribbon Ill, leading to aterminal of the heater. The current passes through the heater to theother terminal thereof where it is received by a ribbon I82 and followsup this ribbon to the conductor 89. The upright part 98 of thisconductor leads to the other terminal I from which it passes into theother conductor of the cord I55 and so back to the power supply.

As the base of the iron is heated, the thermostat being located in thewell 23 and, therefore, well connected thermally to the base, is alsoheated. The foundation plate 29, because it covers the well 23, shuts inthe heat within the well, so that the disk 3| quickly takes thetemperature of the base. The bimetallic structure of the disk SI causesit, when heated, to tend to become concave upon its lower face with asnap action.

An elastic stress in the disk 3| is produced by the pull of the shaft 32against the center of the disk and the resistance of contacts like 45 tothe upward movement of the disk-carried contacts such as 43. The greaterthis elastic stress, the less the change in configuration which must beproduced by the bimetallic action in response to the heat. Thus, thehigher the shaft 33, that is, the higher the central part of the diskbefore it is heated, the smaller the temperature change through which itmust be heated to cause it to pass that configuration at which it snaps,becoming concave downward. When the snap occurs, the contacts 43 openand current to the heater is shut off at two points adjacent theseparated end of conductors 31 and 28.

When the adjusting lever 2' is rotated clockwise, it rotates the shaft32 which, cooperating with the nut II, descends and thus decreases theelastic strain in the disk. To decrease the elastic strain is toincrease the strain which must be introduced by the bimetallicdiflerential expansion, that is to increase the temperature to which theiron must be heated before the disk snaps.

The graduations-I2I upon the flange I26 are such that, as the adjustinglever is rotated clockwise, first the mark "01! departs from the pointI32 and the mark rayon comes into register with that point. Upon furtherrotation in the same direction, the mark "silk" comes into register withthe point I32 and so on. Rayon is goods with respect to which only a lowtemperature of the iron is required. Silk calls for somewhat highertemperature; and so on, the highest temperature being required by linen.

The marks on the dial I26 thus indicate progressively highertemperatures as the dial is rotated clockwise and the mark high,representing the limit of motion in the clockwise direction, correspondsto goods requiring a higher temperature than anything mentioned upon thedial. When the dial is rotated in the opposite direction successively,lower temperatures are called for to produce the snap action of thethermostat, until the mark rayon is in register with the point I32.

A further counter-clockwise movement of the adjusting lever 88 operatesthe switch lever N in the way already described and causes it to assumethe position shown in Fig. 16 with the contact 54 open.

Various modifications may be made in the device embodying my inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and I-desire,therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereon as areimposed by the prior art and the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, a thermostat and circuit interrupter comprising, asupporting plate, a bimetallic member, an adjusting shaft threadedlyengaging the plate and attached at its lower end to the bimetallicmember for adjusting the operations thereof, main contact meansincluding a stationary contact on the plate and a cooperating movablecontact on the member, secondary contact means including a stationarycontact attached to the plate and a cooperative movable contact movablyattached to the plate by a lever, and a lug attached to the shaft forcoopcrating with the lever and operating the secondary contacts inresponse'to the movements of such adjusting shaft.

2. In combination, a thermostat and circuit interrupter comprising asupport, a thermostatic member mounted thereon, a rotatable shaft for.adjusting said thermostatic member, first contact means including astationary contact on said support and a cooperating contact movablewith said member,second contactmeansincluding a stationary contact onsaid support and a cooperative movable contact having a movable mountingon said support, and means movable with said shaft for intermittentlyengaging said 78 mounting to cause operation of said second contactmeans in response to movements of such adjusting shaft.

3. In combination, a thermostat and circuit interrupter comprising asuport, a thermostatic member mounted thereon, a rotatable shaft foradjusting said thermostatic member, first contact means including astationary contact on said support and a cooperating contact movablewith said member, second contact means including a stationary contact onsaid support and a cooperative movable contact movably attached to saidsupport by a lever, and a lug attached to said shaft for cooperatingwith the lever and operating said second contact means in response tomovement of such adjusting shaft.

4. In combination, a thermostat and circuit interrupter comprising asupport, a thermostatic member mounted thereon, a rotatable shaft foradjusting said thermostatic member, first contact means including astationary contact on said suport and a cooperating contact movable withsaid member, second contact means including a stationary contact on saidsupport and a cooperative movable contact, a lever carrying said movablecontact and pivotally mounted on said support, and means movable withsaid shaft for intermittently engaging said lever to cause operation ofsaid second contact means in response to movements of such adjustingshaft.

5. In combination, a thermostat and circuit interrupter comprising asupport, a thermostatic member mounted thereon, a rotatable shaft foradjusting said thermostatic member, first contact means including astationary contact on said support and a cooperating contact movablewith said member, second contactmeans including a stationary contact onsaid support and a cooperative movable contact, means carrying saidmovable contact and biased to closed position, and means movable withsaid shaft for intermittently engaging said biased means to causeoperation oi! said second contact means in response to movements of suchadjusting shaft.

6. In combination, a thermostat and circuit interrupter comprising asupport, a thermostatic member mounted thereon, a rotatable shaft foradjusting said thermostatic member, first contact means including astationary contact on said support and a cooperating contact movablewith said member, second contact means including a stationary contact onsaid support and a cooperative movable contact, means carrying saidmovable contact and biased to closed position, a stop on said support,and means movable with said shaft for engaging said biased means toclose and open said movable contact means just after leaving and justbefore reaching said stop, respectively.

EARL K. CLARK.

